Advent and Christmas Reflections

It was an odd Advent season this year which seemed to just streak by and now another Christmas day is behind us. Sigh. We didn't even get our Advent wreath set up until the 3rd week. How bad is that? My wife tried to get everything done early, but still, we seemed to be running around in the last few days leading up to Christmas getting things done. The family was split up at times, as I worked late Christmas Eve and Christmas night and my son also had to work Christmas Eve. There is also an empty feeling when the whole family unit is not together, and I feel so blessed to know that those times are just temporary.  I think about all the permanently separated and divorced families this season and how hard that must be for everyone. As John Paul 2 quoted and if you glance to the right of this blog, there it is; "As the family goes, so goes the whole nation and the world in which we live."  My family has a unique situation where both my wife's family and my own celebrate holidays, birthdays, and special occasions together!

Anyway, the one part of my family which is missing in this physical world is my father. He passed away from the Alzheimer's disease over five years ago and I realize I still miss him. I took some time to visit his grave during a day during Advent, and for whatever reason that visit was very emotional for me. As I talked out loud to him, I wished he could be here to watch his grandchildren grow up and he would indeed be proud as they grow into wonderful young men and women.  I wondered why I cried so much that day and realized I still need my Dad even as I approach my dreaded 50th birthday. I told my wife later that evening I think I was on my own "time of the month"  Anyway, I realized if I need my Dad at my "advanced age", think how my teenage boys and my almost teen daughter might still need me? Sometimes it doesn't seem like they need me and they would rather keep their distance from "weird" Dad.  As I have found out through various Men's programs and research, the presence of a Dad is vital to the health of the family.  Maybe I'll try not to be too weird next year.  For those looking for a program for Dad's and husbands, check out the That Man is You Program at a Church near you! Go to the following link to see more about the program!   http://www.paradisusdei.org/index.php/programs/tmiy. 

Once Christmas day has passed we seem to get those post Christmas blahs and a kind of let down feeling. Yet even in the days past all the full tummies and presents, Jesus gives us the hope of another day, a new start, another year,  because he makes all things new!  My hope is my father has found his way to heaven and awaits his new body!  There are always things I can do better to become a better father and husband and hopefully 2014 will be a good year in that regards.

Two Must See Movies!

1. "12 Years a Slave". I recently saw this movie with my 18 year old son. There has been very little advertising on this film and has only been playing at select theaters at the time of this writing. I would assume the marketing will be gearing this film for Academy Award material. I would also suspect the subject matter of this film may be resulting in advertisers shying away to some extent. Anyway, a great film with wonderful performances all around. This is not an easy film to watch as it deals with the brutal and realistic portrayal of slavery in our country. Some of the reviews I have read, compared it on the level of Schindler's List.  I would agree with that and would add The Passion of the Christ to that comparison list. It is amazing the brutality that human beings are capable of through our history and this movie is no different.  I won't go into the plot but will only highly recommend it for mature adults. If you have a mature teenager, I would say 16 years or older could handle the material.  There is violence and some nudity, but of the "non-erotic" variety.  

2. "I am". An entirely different type of film released in 2010, which is billed as a documentary and  recently watched it on Netflix. This is a film by Tom Shadyack who at one time directed comedy films such as Liar, Liar and Ace Ventura. A near death experience caused him to take a hard look at humanity and this film is the fruit of that project.  He is basically trying to answer two questions.

1. What is wrong with the world?
2. How can we fix it?  

I think he does a very good job and getting a handle on these questions. No easy fixes of course but he certainly backs up his results with actions of his own.  There were 2 main ideas which stuck with me.

1. We are all connected in our humanity.
2. If we desire, or want more than our basic needs and requirements for living, it is considered a mental illness. In the wake of the recent black Friday, I would say we have a problem.

Chew on that for awhile. 

Who's making you shake?

There is a lot of new music out there and wanted to share another gem. Last week I heard a new song from the group, The Head and the Heart, which I was not that familiar with. The song is called Shake from their new album "Let's Be Still."   The group's name Head and Heart is Theology of the Body as we try and intertwine the two together, just like body and soul.  Sometimes I feel lazy with wasted time, knowing inside the soul needs a stir, so let the wind blow and make you shake.  Is Jesus making you shake?  Here are some of the lyrics which rang true with me. Have a listen.

"But the wind, yes the wind keeṗs howling

Even if it was a mistake, I can’t forget your face
Even if it was just a day, you won’t forget the one who’s making you shake"

"Kinda lost my way you see
Even if it was just a day, you won’t forget the man who’s making you shake
Kinda lost my way you see
Who’s making you shake, you shake
Ah, making you shake
You shake
Ah, making you shake"

Natasha Paremski and Theology of the Body

I had the opportunity to see the Colorado Symphony and Natasha Paremski perform in Denver last weekend.  We had orchestra level seats, meaning we were 5 rows from the stage. At first we thought, wow, this is too close, but it gave us a perspective to really "see" the musicians; their face and body language coming alive to the music.  It was a wonderful experience to listen to the music and even more so to see the expressions coming from the musicians.

When we quote JP2 and the thesis for TOB, "The body, in fact, and only the body, is capable of making visible what is invisible: the spiritual and the divine. It has been created to transfer into the visible reality of the world the mystery hidden from eternity in God, and thus to be a sign of it" 

Natasha Paremski. Photo credit: Andrea Joynt

 
Music is a wonderful example on how the body is expressing the soul and the "invisible"
When you watched Natasha perform on the piano you could see the intense emotions coming from her body. My 16 year old son remarked, "Dad, it looks like she is having seizure," as her intensity marked the music. Her body was expressing her soul as one, and not two separate pieces as our culture tends to vision.  Other times during the concert, Natasha does not even look at the keyboard and she appears to  not even be in this world. This vision was not only from the pianist, but from the rest of the orchestra and the conductor himself as you can see the soul at work through the body. If you have never seen a symphony or see Natasha Paremski perform, I highly recommend the experience. It doesn't even have to be classical music but I 'm sure anyone who has been to a rock concert or other artistic venue can see Theology of the Body in work.


10/22/2013...Update note:  Upon further reflection, I found the pendulum swinging widely during this concert as part of me still was dragged down by lust as my eyes did indeed gaze to other parts of her body. However, on the other end of the pendulum was the unique perspective that Theology of the Body offers as her body does indeed express her soul in her movements. All you need to do is click on the picture above and look into the eyes of her soul.

Theology of the Body, Prayer, and the Senses

A great article in using prayer through Christ's humanity, applied to the senses by Father William Serra. This article came out of the latest TOB Institute Newsletter which is particularly helpful for those struggling with lust and pornography. Within the article,  I really like the prayer for sight which goes like this;

"I look at you and you look at me. Your solitude and vulnerability moves me deeply. Allow me to accompany you with my eyes; though they are limited, weak and sinful, I want them to rest in you. Receive my gaze as a desire of seeing You in creation and in my relationships with others. I want your Eucharist, I want You to be my filter. I want to see everything and everyone with You and through You. Purify my sight, refine my eyes. I want to allow faith to cleanse and protect them from any attraction to the world. May my gaze be deep and profound so it transmits peace, love, serenity and joy.
When I look into your eyes I see heaven, I hear them speak of God the Father, they transform my heart and they exude tenderness. Gaze of God, Blessed eyes of Christ, purify my sight and set it always on you!"

http://www.tobinstitute.org/newsItem.asp?NewsID=95

New Album from Army of Me!

Brand new music from Vince Scheuerman and Army of Me is out. The new album is called Searching for You and is now streaming online at the link below.  I heard Vince at the Theology of the Body 1 class concert last January in Pennsylvania. Great music from the heart. Check him out.  I think the album is now available for purchase.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/the-drop/searching-you

Facebook link below...

https://www.facebook.com/armyofmemusic

Previous songs from his album "Citizen" to check out;
"Better Run"
"Perfect"
"Rise"

"Not just Looking at, but Seeing Women"

In the spirit of Theology of the Body, here is a great article depicting a discussion between father and son about seeing women for who they are as human beings and not just their bodies. Great Stuff. Check out some of Nate Pyle's other commentaries on his blog.

http://natepyle.com/seeing-a-woman/

Through the Narrow gates: Different Perspectives, One Truth!

Several reflections from different sources have channeled through since Sunday's Gospel reading from Luke 13: 22-30.

In his homily, Father Grzegorz from St John the Baptist in Longmont, gave a great analogy comparing the narrow gates to crossing a narrow log over a river. He said "if you stray too far to the right or left you fall into the river.  As is the narrow gate to heaven which can be a lonely path; unlike the crowded path to the wider gates to somewhere else.  I have also been reading about St. Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle and based on Father's homily, I can now picture a very narrow draw bridge leading to the Castle of the Soul and ultimate union with God.  The drawbridge itself was borrowed from Caroline Myss's work on Entering the  Castle.

From Christopher West's CORE Thoughts today he writes...from the following link...

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Enter-through-the-Narrow-Gate.html?soid=1107080223725&aid=QPLr0NjFeks

"Strive to enter through the narrow gate." What does this passage from yesterday's Gospel say to us about the way we live and express the theology of our bodies? Striving to enter through the narrow gate in this context means committing ourselves to a continual purification of two misguided approaches to the body: the tendency to worship the body on the one hand (very prevalent in the culture today); and the tendency to reject or devalue the body on the other hand (very prevalent among Christians today). The more we are purified of both, the closer we are to that "vortex" in the center that draws us up bodily into the divine Mystery with all the elemental force of Christ's bodily Ascension and Mary's bodily Assumption. Lord, help us to enter through that narrow gate!

 

Different viewpoints but neither are easy journeys to the narrow gate, and for me, body worship is a big one.  Earlier last week, Christopher West talked about the recent comments from model Kate Upton about how she felt terrible about herself from her first SI Swimsuit cover. Of course I fixated on the SI cover which was attached and proceeded to a few more pictures of her. There I go, into the river with a big splash! So I pick myself up and start over. Back to confession for me.

 

 

 

 

Theology of the Body Institute 2014 course schedule released!

If you ever get a chance to take one of the Theology of the Body courses, I highly recommend them. I have taken TOB 1 with Christopher West last January. They have just posted the new class schedule for 2014. 

http://www.tobinstitute.org/page.asp?ContentID=148

Saints and Sinners

My wife and I were having coffee the other day and noticed a young woman with the word "sinner" on her t-shirt. We remarked we would never let our daughter wear a shirt like that while living under our roof. Turns out when she turned around, the back side of the shirt said "SAINT." I am often reminded histories greatest saints were often the greatest sinners. 

There we go judging others before seeing the whole story...

Recent Trip to New Mexico and Arizona

It has been a while since my last post as I recently returned back from a trip to New Mexico and Arizona with the family. A whirl wind tour of many National Parks, including Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, and Grand Canyon. Amazing beauty of God's creation at work through many thousands of years.

In the "Big Room" within Carlsbad Caverns there is an area called "Top of the Cross" which the cavern forms the shape of a cross as well as formations on the top of the cave. I imagined when Jesus had descended into hell, his journey may have taken him into this cave and the formations were touched by God.

Zombies and Life!

Zombies seem to be everywhere these days. The latest buzz is the recently issued movie, World War Z, which I recently saw and thought it was a very good movie and would highly recommend. However, I was even more fascinated with Warm Bodies, a novel by Isaac Marion which was also been made into a movie which was released last winter. The movie is good, but the book is great. An interesting take on the end of the world, the Zombie craze, but where zombies actually become human again and provides a great examination of the human condition. There is a some dialogue in the novel between the main characters R and Julie, where they are trying to explain the reason for the plague and the "changing" to zombies and goes like this, quoting below;

" This plague... I don't think it's from any spell or virus or nuclear rays. I think it's from a deeper place. I think we brought it here. “I think we crushed ourselves down over the centuries. Buried ourselves under greed and hate and whatever other sins we could find until our souls finally hit the rock bottom of the universe. And then they scraped a hole through it, into some ... darker place.” We released it. We poked through the seabed and the oil erupted, painted us black, pulled our inner sickness out for everyone to see. ― Isaac Marion, Warm Bodies

I think the author hit it on the head and I fear we are headed in this downward spiraling direction the way our current culture is headed. However, there is hope, and Warm Bodies ends in hope for the world, the reversal to becoming human. To bring ourselves out of the pit of hell. How is that achieved? Here are some awesome quotes in the transformation back to human...

"We're fumbling in the dark, but at least we're in motion."

"We smile, because this is how we save the world. We will not let Earth become a tomb, a mass grave spinning through space. We will exhume ourselves. We will fight the curse and break it."

The below quote is from the main zombie character,R, who is becoming human again. 

“I look down at myself, but I don't need to. I can feel it. My hot blood is pounding through my body, flooding capillaries and lighting up cells like Fourth of July fireworks. I can feel the elation of every atom in my flesh, brimming with gratitude for the second chance they never expected to get. The chance to start over, to live right, to love right, to burn up in a fiery cloud and never again be buried in the mud."

 "There's a shiver in our legs, a tremor like the Earth speeding up, spinning off into uncharted orbits. Scary, isn't it? But what wonderful thing didn't start out scary? I don't know what the next page is for you, but whatever it is for me I swear I'm not going to f@#$ it up. I'm not going to yawn off in the middle of a sentence and hide it in a drawer. Not this time. Peel off these dusty wool blankets of apathy and antipathy and cynical desiccation. I want life in all its stupid sticky rawness.

"Okay."

"Okay, R."

Here it comes.”  Isaac Marion, Warm Bodies

Are we ready to take it on? How much do we want life in its fullness or will we go through the motions as dictated by the culture? Our choice, always has been. God gave us the freedom to choose. So often we don't choose God. We are always brought down by sin and evil but Jesus offers us hope through grace to overcome.  How will we respond to our current culture?

In the book he provides another powerful quote.

“There's no benchmark for how life's "supposed" to happen. There is no ideal world for you to wait around for. The world is always just what it is now, it's up to you how you respond to it” 

Where is Theology of the Body in this novel? Check out this quote and have a look at Genesis 2: 23-24...

“I crush her against me. I want to be part of her. Not just inside her but all around her. I want our rib cages to crack open and our hearts to migrate and merge. I want our cells to braid together like living thread.” 

I highly recommend reading Warm Bodies by Isacc Marion and take a look at the movie as well. The movie does not go as deep as the novel but still an interesting twist that you do not see in Hollywood movies. 

Without rituals, death will follow!

Here is a link to an article by Marc Barnes (the guy from Bad Catholic blog). This guy has the pulse of humanity where we can choose rituals or death. So many times we choose death.  Check out his article below. 

http://steubenville.org/burningcatholics/?p=20

 This is so true in my life. I struggle to keep rituals and routines going in my life, and hence it becomes death instead of ritual.  This means my relationships with my wife and family suffer,  as well as my relationship with God.  This is why I like Lent so much, as there is so much day to day, and weekly rituals that keeps me grounded. Sometimes after Lent, it is easy to get out of your routine and stray from God. Lately with all the summer time activities, I haven't made time to read the Bible and pray. Sometimes I wish Lent lasted all year. 

Check out blog; Bad Catholic

I was steered to this blog from Christopher West.There are some great posts here on a blog called Bad Catholic. This blogger seems to be in touch with entire theme of Theology of the Body.  Check it out. Below are a few of the more interesting articles. Don't worry,  these articles are not porn related!

 http://www.patheos.com/blogs/badcatholic/2013/06/the-amazing-ghost-and-his-erection.html

Worthwhile quotes from the article above...

"Without a working integration of body and soul there is no humanity, no language, no art, and ultimately no knowledge in the universe."

"The experience of beauty destroys our barriers and ushers a person into an encounter with the truth. Art, music, poetry, and even architecture need to express the beauty of the integration of body and soul, not out of some desire to make a point — for political art is lame — but out of our own, authentic, artistic encounter with the human person as neither a ghost, nor a corpse, but relation."   

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/badcatholic/2012/06/naked-men.html

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/badcatholic/2013/04/death-as-orgasm.html

Stephen King's Dark Tower Reflections

I have always been a Stephen King fan and The Dark Tower has always been high on my list, maybe just under The Stand. I had finished the entire series many years ago, but thoughts from earlier this year drove me to re-read or in this case listen to the last volume (read by George Guidall).   As with many readers, I was disappointed with the ending but after a re-read, the ending sits a bit better with me as I relate it to the tremendous amount of biblical imagery in the story and how to relate it to our own lives.

Spoiler Alert: If you haven't read the books and plan to read them you may not want to continue. 

Roland's quest to reach the Dark Tower ultimately ends when he reaches the  Tower and climbs to the top where he opens one last door (or so we think). Once he opens the door, he realizes in horror that he has been replaying his life and journeys over and over in a sort of infinite loop. From the characters in Roland's life we hear the following dialogue to Roland;


"It'll be your damnation boy. You'll wear out a hundred pairs of boots on your walk to hell.

"Those who do not learn from the past are condemned to repeat it"

I believe Roland is in a sort of purgatory until he figures out how to set things right. In his quest for the tower, it was always about him and his quest to reach the tower. His family, friends, and his "ka-tet" had mostly all died, sacrificed for his tower and were ultimately discarded. In our end game it is how we live our lives and how much time we may have to spend in our own purgatory before we "get it right". There was some hope at the end of the story when Stephen Kings writes in a whispering voice to Roland;

"This is your promise that things may be different, Roland-that there may yet be rest. Even salavation." A pause, and then: "If you stand. If you are true."  

Through the volumes of the Dark Tower there are these beams which serve the tower which are being broken by what are called "breakers." In our world, sinners mayhaps?  There is a sequence of dialogue that the beams are speaking to Roland and his friends through a dream sequence and goes like this...

"why must you hurt me, when I love you so? When I can do nothing else nor want to, for love made me and fed me and kept me in better days. Why will you cut me, and disfigure my face, and fill me with woe? Now you scar me with nails and put burning drops of quicksilver in my nose...Even if the torture stops, I'll die. And you'll die too, for when love leaves the world, all hearts are still. Tell them of my love, and tell them of my pain and tell them of my hope, which still lives. For this is all I have and all I am and all I ask."

This is the dialogue that I kept coming back to, and for me here is the clincher line; "when love leaves the world, all hearts are still"  In some ways love seems to be leaving our world. In Stephen Kings world there seems to be less hope. However, through Jesus Christ, there is hope and redemption but we must take that step towards him and not away from him. Sometimes easier said than done.

It is all about love, isn't it?. Te belong, to love and be loved. God is love as we read in John's Gospel.
To me, there is a lot of Catholic theology through the Dark Tower as the beams seem like the the Holy Spirit and some of the references above from the beam (sounded like Jesus to me-scar me with nails). 

Then there was the imagery of the rose throughout the Dark Tower. I'll write more about the rose in my next blog installment.

Evil winning the battle over human sexuality

Two stories this past week continue to support evidence that evil continues to make ground in its battle over our sexuality, creating strong division amongst the human race on several battle fronts. The first news item was the Boy Scout decision to allow SSA (same sex attraction) boys into scouting. The second was the France decision to allow gay marriage. Both have resulted in strong opinions and opposition on both sides of the issues.

From the Boy Scout issue, even though BSA officials have opened the door for all boys to join scouting (in attempts to join all of us), in some circles it may create more division. Some religious groups have been outspoken in starting new boy scout groups which would exclude boys that have expressed SSA.  Others have questioned to have boys in seperate tents and the list goes on. Again from my previous post I belive too much sexuality is being pushed into the forefront.

The other new item was the France decision to allow gay marriages. This has sparked protests which drew huge crowds of more than 150,000 people. These protests have been mostly peacful but there have been sporadic instances of violence. Again, evil is showing the tactic of divide and conquer.

Evil is striking at the heart of our humanity, our sexuality in creating division amonst the human race. As I have heard Christopher West speak in the past and am paraphrasing here " If the devil is going to throw his arrows, where might his aim be targeted?" At the heart of humanity, our sexuality!

Let boys be boys: The followup of BSA policy change on sexual orientation and Scouting

The Boy Scouts were in the news the other day in the swirling controversy whether to allow boys with same sex attraction into the century old scouting program.  After months of internal reflection within the organization,  the decision came out on Thursday. A portions of the official announcement reads as follows...

"Approved a resolution to remove the restriction denying membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation alone. The resolution also reinforces that Scouting is a youth program, and any sexual conduct, whether heterosexual or homosexual, by youth of Scouting age is contrary to the virtues of Scouting.

Here is the clincher quote from BSA officials that stands out for me;  "While people have different opinions about this policy, we can all agree that kids are better off when they are in Scouting."
  
From what I've been reading, the varied opinions are hotly contested on both sides of the spectrum. This is a topic which I certainly have wrestled with and could understand both sides of the argument. I believe BSA has made the right choice but with a caveat. The bottom line is that teenage boys are going through so many hormonal and body changes that I don't think a boy of 15 can self proclaim himself as a "homosexual or gay" The culture so easily likes to  put labels on us and if we don't fit into one of the labels, where should we go? I have seen several instances where teenagers have "come out" and declared their sexual orientation as early as 16 years old. To find out a few years later they have changed their minds. Human bodies go through so many changes during those years that any orientation may not finally settle in until our 20s or maybe even later in life.  Our culture and the media as put so much emphasis on our sexual orientation and labels that we haven't allowed to let boys be boys.  

I think we can acknowledge that there is same sex attraction in our world. The debate on what causes these attractions are many, and my guess is a mix of cultural and biological influences. I would lean heavily on the cultural side but that argument can be for another day.  My guess is most of us have experienced same sex attraction in varying degrees through portions of our lives.

This whole debate that has focused on the boys sexual orientation should be redirected into just let the boys  have fun camping, hiking, and learning a variety of life skills.  As a formal Eagle Scout, this program offers so much to each boy in building character and shaping them into the men they will become. As in the BSA quote from above, "kids are better off in scouting."  I couldn't agree more!  Can we keep the sex part out of it for a few more years?    You might say that if I believe in the Theology of the Body teachings within this blog that my endorsement of the BSA decision is hypocritical.  This is my caveat, that I believe all boys should have the chance to belong in scouting; but all the labeling of "sexual orientation, gay, and homosexual language should be removed from the BSA documents.

You can certainly see how this topic may fit into our previous discussions on relativism, truth, and Theology of the Body. I will be addressing more of this in the future. In the meantime, I invite comments and opinions on this topic.

JP2 and Motherhood

Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms today! John Paul 2 certainlly had something to say about Motherhood. I wanted to share a few snipits from John Paul 2 which were published in an earlier translation of TOB, Human Love in the Divine Plan. Below are his words.

"Motherhood is the fruit of the marriage union of a man and woman, of the biblical "knowledge" which corresponds to the union of the two in one flesh."

"According to the bible, the conception and birth of a new human being are accompanied by the following words of the woman: "I have brought forth a man into being with the help of the Lord" Gn 4:1.  This exclamation of Eve, the mother of all the living is repeated every time a new human being comes into the world. It expresses the woman's joy and awareness that she is sharing in the great mystery of eternal generation. The spouses share in the creative power of God!

"The Creator grants the parents the gift of a child. On the woman's part, this fact is linked in a special way to a sincere gift of self. Mary's words at the Annunciation-"Let it be according to your word"

"The man, even with all his sharing in parenthood always remains on outside the process of pregnancy and the baby's birth; in many ways he has to learn his own fatherhood from the mother.

"The history of every human being passes through the threshold of a woman's motherhood"

"Parenthood-even though it belongs to both-is realized much more fully in the woman, especially in the prenatal period. It is the woman who pays directly for this shared generation, which literally absorbs the energies of her body and soul. It is therefore necessary that the man be fully aware that in their shared parenthood he owes a special debt to the woman. No program of equal rights between women and men is valid unless it takes this fact fully into account."

Sex sells; or does it?

Abercrombie and Fitch is in the news again, a clothing retailer who targets the young and chiseled, yet excludes a large chunk of the population in larger sized women apparel. In 2006, CEO Mike Jeffries of A&F made the below comments;

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. - Jeffries

Wow, did he really say that?  Now in 2013, according to a recent article in Forbes, sales are declining and are in the midst of closing 180 stores, almost 10 percent of its store base.  Are we finally seeing beyond the idol worship of the all-American body and blatant discrimination? In reality, this kind of body they promote probably accounts for less than 1 percent of the overall population. Yet our culture continues to market this tiny percent of the population yet leaving the majority in despair that they desire this idolized body. 

2 Story Idol of the male in A&F Singapore 

I took a look at some of their campaign images and found mainly male models, glossy, black and white photo shoots and lots of chiseled abs and crotch shots with open button jeans. Very little clothing can be seen while photo shoots included boy kissing boy, girl on top of boy (mostly no clothing), and 2 girls and a boy. In some of the group shots the models appeared to be loose and having fun. Their campaign is selling not only clothing but open sexuality; including homosexuality and multiple partners.  As an impressionable teenager or 20 something, who would not be attracted to this type of body and what they are promoting?  Heck, I would like to have that kind of body and I would be lying if I said I didn't find some of these models attractive.

The Blessed John Paul 11 called our current society, "the culture of death" which idolizes the human body instead of showing the body with dignity. With A&F's recent decline and apparent outrage of customer discrimination, maybe we can see a glimmer of light that points desire in another direction. Many of our desires point towards the things of this world of perfect bodies, money and materialistic needs. We need to use John Paul's Theology of the Body to point us to our true desires towards God.  As I love to quote C.S Lewis about desire. "If we have a desire which can not be fulfilled in this world, chances are those desires were made for another world."

Baseball and Truth. Go see the movie "42"

  I saw the movie "42" this weekend with my son Matthew.  We both loved it and offers inspiration of the human heart. Matt just wanted to go play more ball! Loved the quote when Jackie Robinson asks Branch Rickey (GM of Dodgers), “Do you want a ball player who’s afraid to fight back?” Rickey responds, “No, I want a ball player with the guts not to fight back.” Sounds something that Jesus would say and do.

Go see this movie and take the kids (maybe 10 and up?).  My teen boys have seen it but think my 11 year old daughter should see it as well. There is quite a bit of the "N" word used,  but valuable lessons to be learned. This movie has way more wheat than weeds. 

A few weeks ago, George Weigel wrote a piece on this movie which ran in the Denver Catholic Register and quoting him he said at the end of the piece "amidst vast cultural and political confusions, Americans still believe in moral truths, moral absolutes, and moral courage—and yearn for opportunities to celebrate them. There’s an important lesson in that for the country’s religious and political leaders."  To see the entire article see the following link. http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/10125?CFID=55251902&CFTOKEN=63576832

Most of us, including myself seem to shy away from that moral courage to fight the relativism of our world.  If we search deep into our hearts, does racism really belong in our lives?  Does abortion?  We have come a long way but probably still have a long way to go.  We can all lead by different ways.  Jackie Robinson lead by  showing is courage by leading on the baseball field and not fighting back.  Martin Luther King Jr. lead by speech. How will you lead?  

Relativism exposed

Using Theology of the Body do either of these images portray the dignity of the female human body?

Showing both extremes in cultures

TOB for Youth. They are our Future!

Youth Movements with Theology of the Body. Check them out. Parents, try and steer your kids this way...

A Theology of the Body camp for teens with the link below. May be too late already for this summer but certainly something to consider for the future. 

http://dumboxproductions.com/information/content/8/echo-2011-theology


I met some great folks from Generation Life at TOB class last winter. Check them out below.

http://www.generationlife.org/

More on Truth and Relativism

The philosophical debate on absolute truths vs Relativism rages on. I see or read it consistently in the literature and in every day life and have had some interesting debates on Facebook circles. I find this a fascinating topic and even amongst Christian circles there seems to be very opinionated ideas on truth. There is some literature on the topic which I am now reading which I will hope to blog in the coming weeks.  Everyone seems to have strong opinions and I would encourage anyone to comment on this blog.

Below is some information gathered in the past few weeks. 

"There is no true peace without the truth! There cannot be true peace if everyone is his own criterion, if everyone can always claim exclusively his own rights, without at the same time caring for the good of others, of everyone, on the basis of the nature that unites every human being on this earth"...Pope Francis

via...George Weigel, "Impoverished Spirits" Denver Catholic Register. April 10, 2013
 
George Weigel finishes the above referenced article with this quote..."You can count on this pontificate to challenge the dictatorship of relativism in the name of authentic humanism."

The Denver Catholic Register has been running several excellent pieces from Archbishop Aquila on Marriage. I encourage you to take a look. http://www.archden.org/index.cfm/ID/9707/Columns/

From Archbiship Samuel Aquila column on April 10, 2013. "Today, people seem to believe marriage is an institution created by governments-a recognition of a partnership of adults. In some ways, marriage has become viewed as a social recognition of mutual affection between two adults. This view of marriage is relativistic and self centered."

Relativism; what kind of Truth is it?

Since my blog is partially called "Seeking Truth"  I am finding it very important to understand this term, relativism.

Ok, I will admit this a new word for me,  but seems to be coming up in the literature I've been reading lately and seems to be tied into the current debate of civil unions and gay marriage.  Relativism is the philosophy that there is no objective or absolute truths that everything is "relative." No longer does the culture seem to believe that marriage is between a woman and a man.  As I mentioned in a recent facebook post that I fear if we cross this line of same sex marriage, what will be next? We will constantly redefine marriage as we go into the future. Pope Emeritus Benedict called Relativism "as the greatest problem of our time and announced that our society is building a dictatorship of relativism." 

In the near future I will devote some time to this topic so stand by until after Easter. In the meantime, have a joyous Easter. I believe when Jesus died on the cross he certainly knew the absolute truth and tried to spread it. Let us use Easter to try and get back some of that truth that he carried with him. 

TOB in our musical culture...Let Jesus Fix You!

I've been listening to Cold Play lately and really liked this song "Fix you" The video is cool too and provided a link below. Take a look at the lyrics. It may mean different things to each of us...Here are a few that caught me...

"When you get what you want, but not what you need"

 ...for me this means desires fulfilled here on Earth but only God knows what we really need.

Remember from C.S. Lewis..."If you have a desire that can't seem to be fulfilled, chances are they were made for a different world"

"lights will guide you home and ignite your bones and I will try and fix you"...

Here this reminds me of the Resurrection at the end of time,  as our bodies are ignited and reuntied with our spirit. Jesus is always trying to fix us, we just need to let him. Below is the link to the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI-o25K6B-E

TOB and the Pachal Mystery

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Palm-Sunday-Reflection---TOB---the-Paschal-Mystery.html?soid=1101197222912&aid=8Y-MOWBQuS8

St Joseph, help us men in purity of heart and in modesty!

"As the Divine Praises remind us, St. Joseph is Mary's most chaste spouse. He is a master of purity and a master of modesty, even if he needs a little convincing on this point."...read on below by Father Boniface Hicks

http://www.tobinstitute.org/newsItem.asp?NewsID=77

TOB Head and Heart Immersion Course in PA!

Highly recommended for anyone who wants to learn more about TOB! Here is a video that describes the program. If you would like further information let me know. Scott

Lenten Reflections continue with Mercy....

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Fifth-Sunday-of-Lent-Reflection---Mercy-Writes-Indelible-Love-Upon-Our-Hearts.html?soid=1101197222912&aid=2irT1xxZjSk

Contraception and Celibacy

From our discussions with Celibacy last week this article will connect well as we move into Week 7 and 8

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead/contraception-and-celibacy

Living out Theology of the Body

As we come to the last 2 weeks of our TOB class, the question which may be coming to mind and certainly has to me, is how to truly live out this teaching? Not an easy thing to do. In the past, I could read the material in my mind, but living it out was a different story and failed several times thinking I could do it myself with no ones help. 

Not until my week long TOB retreat in January could I put it all together with a combination of head and HEART. You can't live something out without putting your heart into it. So while learning, you have to use the sacraments to help you especially in dealing with sin. As Chrisopher West, puts it, you can not look at sin without holding the hand of Jesus in one, and Mary in the other hand.

For me it was a combination of prayer, reconciliation, communion and Eucharist that helped me to live this teaching of Theology of the Body. Below is a link to an article that Christopher West published on this topic. As we approach Easter, I challenge you all to try the following if you are struggling in any aspect of your life.

1. Adoration. For me, this was one of the most powerful experiences I have witnessed with the Lord.
2. Attend mass on one additional day, other than Sunday.  This has helped me through the entire week
3. Reconciliation.  Many times will be available for the next several weeks.

http://www.tobinstitute.org/newsItem.asp?NewsID=88

"You are not who they say you are"

I wrote this quote down in my journal from Damon Owens (TOB Institute Executive Dir.) from the Catholic conference in Denver last Friday. I looked it up and guest what, he was actually quoting Pope John Paul back in June of 1979 around the beginning to the end of Communism in Poland.  The article below was written by George Weigel and an excerpt for the article is below. The entire article can be accessed by the below link.

I think we can all keep this in mind in our own lives as our culture today thinks who we are. I implore you to find who YOU are as a person and not what someone else thinks you should be.

"Rather, he spoke over, around, and beyond the regime directly to the people of Poland, not about what the world usually understands as power, but about people power—the power of culture and spiritual identity. “You are not who ‘they’ say you are,” the Pope proposed, in a number of variations on the same theme; “let me remind you who you really are.”  George Weigel, quoting PJP2.

 http://catholicexchange.com/june-1979%E2%80%94the-nine-days-of-john-paul-ii/

More on Triptych

I just happened to find that Pope John Paul had actually written a collection of poetry called
"The Roman Triptych: Meditations"

I found a link with some selected passages which certainly fits into our theme of discussion with TOB.   I just started looking at this and will certainly take a while to unpack some of this. Interesting, at the time of release. then Cardinal Ratzinger (now former Pope Benedict) had presented some of the main themes in 2003.


http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP2POET.HTM

Theology of the Body "Triptych"

As a summary of Theology of the Body in our class so far,  the blessed Pope John Paul 11 compares the words of Jesus to a triptych. A trioptych is a 3 panel art piece which has a beginning, middle, and end. In the context for TOB,  it is meant to show a total vision of man by using the 3 panels. What are the three panels?

1. Christ appeals to the Beginning (our origin); Mt 19: 8 "...from the beginning it was not so"
2. Christ appeals to the Heart (our history): Mt 5:27-28 "..But I say to you that everyone who looks at a womam lustully in the heart has already committed adultery"
3. Christ appeals to the Resurrection (future and destiny). Mk 12:26-27... "He is not God of the dead but of the living.

Latest Lenten post from TOB Institute

"Lent is that privileged time in the gentle but firm hands of the Master Gardener.  It's a time of pruning, yes, but it's also a time of intimate, personal attention."   Father Bobby Krueger 

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Third-Sunday-of-Lent-Reflection---O-Happy-Fault.html?soid=1101197222912&aid=fX88salotcg

As Jesus calls our attention Back to the Beginning...

So does this wonderful version of the Chipotle commercial which Willie Nelson performed the Coldplay hit "The Scientist".  This was made a few years ago but thought was worth sharing.  We try and make things easy via our technology but our hearts pull us "back to the start."  What we are doing in TOB is certainly not easy and as we talked about in our Lenten journey; it will hurt and make us groan, but I think it is a good thing.  Give it a try!  The mystics called it the prayer of Agony.

More Lent Reflections with TOB connections

Transfiguration Prepares for the Way of the Cross by Father Dan Good can be accessed from the link below.  This also ties in with our recent discussions with the redemption of our bodies.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Second-Sunday-of-Lent-Reflection---Transfiguration-Prepares-the-Way-for-the-Cross.html?soid=1101197222912&aid=q3ZeGRfApwQ

Pyramid of Intimacy, drawn by Bill Donaghy from the TOB Institute.

This cool art ties all of Theology of the Body into one piece of art. This is Great!

Is our culture "pretending"?

I have always liked this song by MGMT called "Time to Pretend", but the lyrics seem to reflect today's culture and society. We seem to run in these vicious cycles that continue to play over and over again; thinking that living on sex, drugs and models will satisfy all our desires. Yet in the middle of the song they seem to yearn for a better, simpler time. As Jesus talked in Matthew; "in the beginning it was not so" There are some "weeds" in the lyrics but I have posted the clean video version with the cleaner lyrics below in hopes of shinning on the wheat.

I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, I'm in the prime of my life.
Let's make some music, make some money, find some models for wives.
I'll move to Paris, shoot some heroin, and **** with the stars.
You man the island and the cocaine and the elegant cars.

This is our decision, to live fast and die young.
We've got the vision, now let's have some fun.
Yeah, it's overwhelming, but what else can we do.
Get jobs in offices, and wake up for the morning commute.

Forget about our mothers and our friends
We're fated to pretend
To pretend
We're fated to pretend
To pretend

I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms
I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world
I'll miss my sister, miss my father, miss my dog and my home
Yeah, I'll miss the boredom and the freedom and the time spent alone.

There's really nothing, nothing we can do
Love must be forgotten, life can always start up anew.
The models will have children, we'll get a divorce
We'll find some more models, everything must run it's course.

We'll choke on our vomit and that will be the end
We were fated to pretend
To pretend...

MGMT, "Time to Pretend" from the album Oracular Spectacular

Google Doodle from Valentine's Day

Christopher West posted this on Feb 14th. He says "can this be love? Looking at this through the lens of the Theology of the Body, what do you see going on in there?" 

If you go to the google doodle link below you can spin the wheel and see what I mean.

http://www.google.com/doodles/valentines-day-and-george-ferris-154th-birthday

Fasting is Romantic! Really??

 I found this article on fasting and realized it fit right in with TOB and our beginnings into Lent. I even mentioned in class last week how I was going to come to class looking gloomy  (to look the part) and then read Matthew 6: 16-18 and realized I was falling into the trap like the hypocrites. 

From the article below by Father Boniface Hicks; "Fasting, like chastity, becomes a reverence for the Body.  In short, given the motivation Jesus provides, in which fasting (like chastity) is an expression of longing and a preparation of the body for the Body of the Bridegroom, we might even say, "fasting is romantic."  Click the link below to read the entire article.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Fasting-is-Romantic----A-Reflection-on-Ash-Wednesday.html?soid=1101197222912&aid=nF6nBVN7tuQ

Lent Reflections: Temptations and the choices we make

Good stuff from the article (link) below as we journey through Lent and try and live the Theology of the Body. Around this time of year, the temptations for me is always the new Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Issue. It is hard to just go into the grocery store and turn the corner and...yep there it is.  I don't even remember what her faced looked like. Sigh. I still have a long ways to go.  Guys, anyone else with this problem?

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/First-Sunday-of-Lent-Reflection---Life-is-a-Series-of-Choices.html?soid=1101197222912&aid=1Y_PBAsWtUI

For those that are single...Feeling left out?

We talk a great deal about marriage and spousal love in Theology of the Body. However, this theology is NOT just for married people. God calls all of us to communion with him. Yet, easier said than done. I am going to link this article below by Mary Beth Bonacci. She quotes from Albert Einstein, "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."  Check it out.

http://www.catholicmatch.com/blog/2012/10/a-single-life-lived-for-others/

How do we view beauty in our culture today?

I think everybody sees beauty in different ways. The culture says we should see someone like Beyonce or other "supermodels" as beautiful and treated like an Icon. Others may see the inner beauty of Mother Theresa or Pope John Paul ll.  Or the beauty in nature.  What do you think he is seeing below? Is he seeing just a double rainbow or something more? Thanks to Christopher West for finding this video.

Body vs Spirit

I have attached a short video clip from Dr. Michael Waldstein who translated Pope John Paul's Theology of the Body with the 2006 "Man and Woman He Created Them." He talks about the struggles we face between the spirit and the body. A good example of what we have been talking about in class.